Seeking cures and busting myths: 'Living with autism is just reality for a lot of people' 0

Flags will be raised. Programs and activists praised. The courage of those who struggle admired.

But when the first World Autism Awareness Day to be celebrated in Canada ends Tuesday, Maureen Connolly hopes it will do more than just briefly shine a light on the disorder.

"What I would like to see out of it is maybe more resources and research dollars directed to (people) living every day with autism," said Connolly, who runs a 15-year-old summer camp at Brock University for local residents with autism spectrum disorders.

"There is lots of research on finding the causes and cures, but living with autism every day is just reality for a lot of people. More research needs to go in that direction."

April 2 has been designated World Autism Awareness Day by the United Nations.

Autism, which includes a host of similar neurological disorders, is one of the most common developmental disabilities in Canada. According to the National Epidemiological Database for the Study of Autism in Canada, the prevalence of autism is one per 94 children.

"There are people who are very high functioning that, unless you were told they had a diagnosis of autism, you would never know it. You might think they were introverted, but you wouldn't otherwise know," Connelly said.

"But depending on the severity of the disorder, you can have someone with real problems communicating, for example."

Connelly's camp, which runs in the final two weeks of August, provides physical activities and learning opportunities for people as young as three years old to adults in their early 20s.

It has been funded for more than a decade by Niagara Recycling, which for 25 years has provided employment and training for people with developmental disabilities.

"We had a guy when he first came in, he was pretty withdrawn, he did not communicate much with anybody," said Norman Kraft, the CEO of Niagara Recycling.

"Today, he is a totally different person, working full-time, interacting with people all the time."

The employee is one of several at Niagara Recycling who live with a developmental disability.

Kraft said the company has several full-time and part-time employees with disabilities, and offers a training program that works with 10 local families.

Connelly said without the support of the recycling program and Brock, her program wouldn't exist.

She also hopes the attention an international awareness day brings will cast off some of the stereotypes that surround autism.

"You know the idea out there is that of the savant," she said. "The idea that these are people with extraordinary abilities, but are quaint or somewhat freakish. That is not the reality of it."

She said there are some people who are high-functioning, but many have to struggle with the impact of autism. If stereotypes can be overcome, it will be easier to have a public discussion about autism, she said.